Improved paddle-wheel



UNITED STATES PATENT Ormea.

ADDISON O. FLETCHER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IIVIP-ROVED PADDLE-WHEEL.

Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo. 39,473, dated August 11, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ADDISON C. FLETCHER, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Paddle Wheels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a front view of a wheel constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a section of the same in a plane perpendicular to its axis.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

This invention relates to paddle-wheels with series ot narrow buckets of parabolic or curvilinear shape. The principal objection to such paddle-wheels as heretofore constructed has been `that though in the highest degree effective when rotating in a direction to act upon the water with the convex faces of their buckets to propel the vessel ahead they fail to operate as Well as is desirable when rotating in the opposite direction, and hence cannot be very successfully used in backing the vessel. The reason for this has been that the buckets in entering and passing through the water have divided it and pushed it aside instead of taking hold of it and acting with a direct pressure.

The principal object of my invention is to make the wheel more effective in backing; and to this end it consists in dividing the Wheel in a plane perpendicular to its axis by means of a partition-ring, thus making the buckets of the form of semi-parabolas, and so setting the said buckets between the said partition-ring and two outer rings of a depth equal to the depth ot' a series of buckets that the buckets on one side of the partition alternate with those on the other side of the partition, by which means I not only accomplish the above-meutionedresult, but make the wheel stronger and make it produce less vibration ofthe vessel in propelling in a forward direction.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction.

A represents the shaft of a wheel, and B B B three hubs, having rigidly secured to them by suitable arms, a a, the three rings O O O', the two outer ones, O G, or" which are at a distance apart corresponding with the intended width ofthe wheel,and the middle one, O', constituting the partition-rin g, is midway between O C. The depth of these rings is equal to the depth of the series of buckets D E F, ot' which there may be two or more in each series, the number represented in the drawings being three. The inner edges of the inner buckets, D D, of the several series are even, or nearly so, with the inner edges of the rings, and the outer edges of the buckets F F of the outer series are even, or nearly so, with the outer edges ofthe rings. The inner buckets, D D, are set a little in advance of the middle buckets, E E, and the middle ones a little in advance of the outer ones, F F, of their respective serics, as will be understood by reference to Fig. 2, in which, as well as in Fig. l, the direction of the revolution of the wheel for propelling the vessel ahead is indicated by an arrow.

The buckets are furnished at their extremities with iianges b b, through which they are bolted by screw-bolts c 0 to the rings C O and C. Their form is represented as semi-parabolic, but they may be other approximating curved form. Those on one side of the central ring, O', are arranged in the reverse direction to those on the other side, as shown in Fig. 1, the apex of the parabola being` in both cases neXt the central ring,O,and the several series on each side of the central ring arranged to alternate with each other-that is to say, each series on either side being arranged opposite to the middle of the space between two of the series on the opposite side.

By the above construction of the wheel I retain all the advantages of the system of parabolical or curvilinear buckets which forms the subject of Letters Patent No. 14,497, granted to Galvin Fletcher, and since assigned to myself, but make the wheel more effective in backing, and I also make it stronger, as the buckets and the rings are made to brace each other. The greater eftect in backing is obtained by the rings confining the water to the buckets.

The alternating arrangement of the buckets on opposite sides of the central ring is made and rings C C C' outside of and between the seid buckets, the Whole combined and arranged substantially as herein described.

ADDISON C. FLETCHER.

Witnesses:

HENRY T. BROWN, A. F. SCHLEGEL. 

